Mass. Foreclosure Deeds Hit Lowest Level Of 2012

Massachusetts lenders completed 566 foreclosures in August, the lowest monthly level of 2012, according to figures released Tuesday by real estate publisher The Warren Group.

It was the third straight month of year-over-year foreclosure deed decreases, the group reported, and a drop of 40 percent compared to August 2011's 947 completed foreclosures.

"Fewer foreclosures were completed in recent months, which may indicate a greater effort from lenders to find loan alternatives," Cory Hopkins, the editor of the group's Banker & Tradesman publication, said in a statement.

Foreclosure petitions, however, increased 4.2 percent last month, compared to August 2011. Petitions have increased, on a year-over-year basis, almost every month this year, but Hopkins said 2011 was "a slow year when banks nearly halted their foreclosure proceedings."